She made the remarks here at the weekend when addressing reporters soon after her inspection visit at Jambo Food Products factory, manufacturers of various goods including soft drinks.
She said from October last year to January this year, there was a problem of price hikes of soft drinks, hence the government, through the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) resolved the matter.
She added that it was discovered that drinks production dropped due to the scarcity of industrial sugar, contributed to the shortage of the containers to transport the sugar.
“The containers are made in countries that have been greatly affected by Covid-19 pandemic, but the government was able to find alternative to import the sugar, and we have 25,000 tonnes of the stuff, hence there is no longer shortage of industrial sugar in the country,” she said.
She further said they discovered the soft drinks’ price hike was not contributed by the manufacturers, but by traders and distribution agents for their own interests.
She added that the step being taken by the government is to control the wanton price hiking of various products in the country and warned traders to stop doing so saying steps will be taken against them.
Meanwhile, Dr Kijaji said the government has begun online issuance of permits for importing industrial sugar as well as improving cargo clearance at the port.
She also called on foreign investors to come to invest in industrial sugar manufacturing, as there are many areas that have been allocated for investment.
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